Head coach of defending Domino’s Women’s Super League champions Killester, Mark Grennell believes his side have the “toughest draw”, as they prepare to face Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in the playoff quarter-finals at the IWA on Saturday.
Killester finished third in the table and face their Cork opponents for the second weekend in a row, having concluded the regular season with a 86-81 win.
Grennell said: “We probably got the toughest draw of the weekend. We got a good look last week of what we can expect. We will have to be excellent and try to dominate the areas of the game where we have advantages. We can’t rely on Sam Haiby getting 40 again!”
SETU Waterford Wildcats finished table toppers in the regular season, they take on Utility Trust St. Paul’s, who claimed the final playoff spot thanks to victory over Catalyst Fr. Mathews last weekend.
Wildcats won 82-77 in Kerry last December and had a 65-50 home win over Utility Trust St. Paul’s earlier this month.
Speaking ahead of the game, head coach Jillian Hayes said: “We have played them twice in the league and only narrowly got the win. It hard to scout with different professional players each game, but this weekend’s game is like a cup quarter-final – all to play for, all down to who plays best on the day.”
The Address UCC Glanmire were league winners in 2023 and 2022, they have to travel to this year’s Paudie O’Connor National Cup winners FloMAX Liffey Celtics on Saturday. Mark Scannell has an experienced squad to lean on, with the likes of captain Áine McKenna and Claire O’Sullivan among them and he’s hopeful they can help steer his side into the last four.
“We knew this season was going to be one of transition and our younger players have acquitted themselves well. We’ve lost a number of games by the bare minimum and with some luck our season could have been very different. Saying that, we are in the playoffs and we will be doing everything in our power to be ready for this week’s challenge. We have lots of experience in our squad and players who know how to win on the big occasions, so we look forward to the challenge”, Scannell stated.
Midlands Portlaoise Panthers concluded the season with three wins to catapult them up to a fifth-place finish, one of those wins was at Trinity Meteors and it’s another trip to Dublin on Saturday. Head coach Peter O’Sullivan is delighted with his team’s form.
“We’ve put in a huge effort since Christmas and our aim was to finish in a playoff spot. To finish in fifth was above our goals and is the highest the club have got in the Super League. We’re coming up against Trinity Meteors for the fourth time this year and every game has been a battle and this will be no different. Trinity have a balanced squad, with players that can impact off the bench. We’re very similar, so it’s a great match-up on paper. We’ve nothing to fear after having an excellent away win there only two weeks ago.”
